I have a playlist. In fact, I have a few of them — one for running, one for relaxing, one just for fun. But I never thought about creating one for my own pets until Spotify came out with its Pet Playlists. This new experience is where Spotify users get an algorithmically curated playlist based on their tastes and their pet’s character attributes.
Just sign up, and pick your pet. It can be a cat, dog, iguana, bird or hamster. Then you answer a series of questions using a sliding scale — like is your cat more relaxed or energetic, shy or friendly and apathetic or curious. Upload a photo and insert your cat’s name. The program looks at what your cat may like and what you may like to create a playlist. It also offers a scientific playlist called Mellow Meowsic, which musicologist David Teie created for Spotify. Note: You do have to create your own human Spotify account for the program to create the playlist.
According to Spotify, each Pet Playlist includes about 30 tracks based on the listener’s preferences that their pet is more likely to enjoy given it’s created with their personality and characteristics in mind. Spotify consulted with musicologist David Teie, a cellist with America’s National Symphony Orchestra, who pioneered species-specific music and composed two albums of Music for Cats. He advised on the general likes/dislikes of each animal. While each playlist is algorithmically created, David’s expertise impacted how the algorithm was programmed.
Want to try it? Visit spotify.com/pets on a desktop or mobile device. Once you’ve created your pet’s account, you can access her playlist right away, plus upload the personalized sharecard to your favorite social sites.